Alan Bennett

Finally, I have got  a hold of some Alan Bennett, British playwright. Holy Moly, what a wonderful style he has. So soft and so subtle, yet absolutely hilarious. I listened to some of the History Boys with my old favourite, Richard Griffiths. I am not sure if there is something wrong because my Ipod tells me it is seventeen hours long. Have to check that.

Last night I listened to The Uncommon Reader which was so funny I got through 4 of the 5 chapters in one sitting. I finished it off today during my afternoon siesta.

Now I am acquiring Talkingheads and a bunch of others. I just love his lilting voice and gentle, yet cutting dry wit. It's like he uses his soft, lovely voice to strike like a hammer when he lets go a corker.

Along with this I sat through, A Private Function and got a bunch of TV shows of folks reading his stories, among them Maggie Smith and Julie Walters.

There is a fun Fry and Laurie Reunited show on the Net which is well worth a view. Fry is in fits of giggles sitting opposite Hugh who just has to look at him to set him off. It is nice to see such a great friendship and to see Fry falling into uncontrollable hysterics. They keep falling back into old characters off their show and they do a rendition of Cocktail Recipe which is a hoot.

I am wondering what the Hell is going to happen in Korea. And what the Hell role China will play in it. One more push by the North and the South seems certain to retaliate. With the US involvement makes the whole thing decidedly sticky. With the capital Soele being so close to the border is a bit scary too. I hope my old pal Philip "The Flip" Hiver is okay, especially as he is about to become a father.

Wikileaks, I am not that bothered about, but I do wish Hilary Clinton would push off. She seems like a nasty piece of work. And with the States potentially fighting on another front, they really are spreading themselves out a tad far, and we all know it's when an empire is fighting on multiple fronts that it falls into a very weak position. The day when China decides to make some expansion plans, I don't think anyone will be able to stop them. Countries like Laos are already virtually owned by China.

We are in the throws of acquiring visas for Oi and Grace for our UK trip next year. What a minefield. In fact, I have delegated to whole thing to Oi as I just find it far too stressful. The British Embassy in Bangkok even want my mother's passport for Oi's verification. WHAT? I screamed. And she has to go there in person, 1000 clicks away with young Gracie. Fucking horrible. For once it is the UK being difficult and not Thailand, as is normally the case. For me to go to Thailand from UK, I pop a tenner in the mail to Hull and a few days later the postman bring me my visa. No such story here.

I am not ruling out major changes for us in the future if life becomes too difficult here. The salaries fall way short of carving some kind of existence. Time will tell...

Vikings

Had a hoot with the boys last night.

A short day at school as the bones of Don Bosco were in town. I had to laugh. Panic-striken nuns running around for days jabbering, "Don Bosco! Don Bosco!". scores of teachers and hundreds of children preparing decorations and teams of workmen building special ramps for the sacred bones.

"Who is this Don Bosco?" I asked Pitt. She didn't know. "There was a Rosco on TV." I chimed. "He was a fat, stupid policeman who smoked cigars." She wasn't listening as usual. A teacher confirmed he was a saint. At home I looked him up on the Net. Yes, some Italian dude who helped children back in 1888 or such.

I don't have very positive views of the catholic church and I found the whole thing rather sad. I am sure 99% of folks at the school didn't have a clue about it. If there smart they will have held on to their Buddhist beliefs, which makes far more sense to me. The teachings of a wise man, as opposed to an invisible god. "Church of the Holy Spook." as Shane McGowen aptly put it.

Anyway, back home I indulged in a Guinness before Danny came over. He is preparing for his final trip back home. He is quite sad to leave Thailand, but he has been offered a well-paid job in a mine is Tasmania. As he is getting on, he says he needs to get some cash behind him. A thousand dollars a week as an unskilled miner. I said it was ironic that they pay the best prices to extract the resources of this dear old Earth. I expect most of it goes to China. Teaching kids? Take a couple of months to earn that. Strange how Man prioritises things.

Tom joined and then so did Patrick and Adam. We had a wild hoot and everyone enjoyed a chin wag. Tom and I finished up in the small hours watching Stephen Fry and Simon Callow in a sit down audience chat in Norfolk which was highly entertaining. A lot of Guinness and cheap beer passed our lips and everyone went home happy.

A really wonderful podcast this week is In Our Time with intellectual humbug, Melvin Bragg. This week he was discussing Vorda Vikings. The Vikings that sailed down the Vorda river in Russia and set up wey-stations in Kiev and such forth. Trading war axes with the Arabs and carrying out bloody and daring raids upon the townships surrounding Constantinople. Fascinating stuff and quite horrific, sacrificing slave girls to honour their dead leaders and mass raped by the local warlords before she is executed. I doubt much has changed really, but well worth a listen if you like your history. And who doesn't like Vikings?

Bernard Matthews is Dead

In case you haven't read the Daily Mail yet, the bootiful turkey killer is dead.

"Turkeys of the world rejoice" was one comment. Another claimed he had charisma, from which some politians could learn a thing or two. Other described his food as garbage, mass produced, processed food for mindless millions. Stephen Fry dressed as a middle-class, middle-English woman, related the corker, "Oh yes. These?" she told, pointing ashamably to her shopping bag, "Yes, these are Bernard Matthews Golden Turkey Drummers. It's amazing how versatile they are." She added,  "I've got one in at the moment actually", with a firtive glance at the floor.

I think I tried one once, and didn't think much of it.

Who knows? But one thing is certain. He's dead.

Korea Vs Korea

Yes, it's all kicking off in Korea.

One can only watch and wait to see what happens.

I expect China will call for calm, but may be secretly pumping for the North. Of course, rather like Star Wars, there is a further sub-plot. The one about China and America, the shipping routes to China under US control around Taiwan and the battle for energy resources that can only intensify in its friction. 40%, I believe, of China's energy is imported, and much of it by sea. All that stuff from Africa, the real war zone. Where US and Western forces have failed after trying to instill some form of Western government as part of the oil deal, China waltzes in, quite welcome, insisting on no such guff, only filling the pockets of the corrupt government and friends currently in charge. Gold Rolls Royces and all that, in exchange for black gold. What makes me laugh is the constant shouts and grunts of the US and the IMF for China's apparent, "Foul Play!" One thing I do like about Asia is that at least corruption is highly visible to all and sundry, unlike the devious Senator Palpatine tactics of the US. And with the latest cheap jibes and pot shot tactics of 'Nailing Palin, US presidential history is even more riduclous than, yes you guessed it, wheels on a tomato. Hollywood couldn't have dreamed this up, and if they had, they would never have made it into a movie. Philip K. Dick might have though.

Here's a classic from the Guardian,

"9.31am: Potentially awkward moment in Guangzhou, China, this morning, where two South and North Korean archers stood side-by-side on the Asian Games podium as their countries fired shells at one another.


I would like to think science can save us, but I do feel that Man's emotions will just have to sink the whole damn noodle.


Meanwhile Europe flails in the treacherous waters attempting to save the weakling countries. I understand that, in fact, Spain is the struggling "fat boy" that may bring down the whole crummy lifeboat and sink everyone in it

On a infinitely more fluffy note, I saw an amazing docu on the wildlife around the Chernobyl site that is indeed flourishing. Wolves, bears, feral, once domestic cats, deer, elk, birds of prey are all thriving in the 30 mile exclusion zone around the radioactive site. The wonderful fact being that animals, having a far shorter lifespan than ugly humans, don't live long enough to develop cancerous tumours, and all the mutants died out very quickly as they were weaker specimens. Well worth a watch if you can, along with Last Chance to See which will have you hoping that a lot more happens in Korea very quickly so we can speed up the annihilation of Man and return it to the animals, if any are left, as soon as possible.

Kakapo

Sunday night and back to school tomorrow, aswell as my trip to the cop shop to get my wrist slapped and a hefty fine. That will leave us with just under 1000 baht to live on for the next week, unless I withdraw from my UK account. Still, maybe this will force me to remember to go to the pig shop next time. I even installed an onscreen calendar to try to help me to remember.

have just finished watching one of Fry's Last Chance to See shows on the incredibly cuddly flightless green parrots of New Zealand, the Kakapo. Yes, this species was all over mainland NZ a while back, but along came Man and his friends the cat and the rat and wiped them all out, bar 40. Now these fluffy balls of fun live on an island with a dedicated team of volunteers attempting to ensure their survival. They now stand at 133. Let's hope they are okay.

I started to play scales on the xylophone today, to instill some engrained channels into my brain. I alternated the mallets as best I could and hammered out Major G and D scales. It's a lot easier than guitar to remember the scales. Almost immediately I can recall how many sharps and flats. With guitar, I still didn't have a clue and would have to sit there working it out on the fretboard. There are some wiz players on Utube and it is a very fun instrument. I think I will enjoy it a lot.

I also tackled the garden today which I have been delaying as the ground is so soggy in the wet season, but it was on the verge of returning to jungle, so I thought I had best get in there. Did a swell job and brought it back to former glory.

Danny is back from Australia now for a space but will soon return, never to call Hat Yai his home again. A touch sad as him and Don have both recently departed, literally halving the number of friends I have. I shall have to hang about in the cheap bars and pick up some new friends.

Last call for In the Night Garden before Grace attempts to go to sleep...

2000 Baht

Last night I headed over to Tom's apartment. Tom doesn't normally have folk call around to his place. He is hardly ever there himself, as he spends all his time on the street socialising or web surfing in some cafe. He did a quick bit I tidying up when I arrived and set up a couple of chairs, table and some sounds. We drank a few beers and he went through his book collection; Tolstoy, Jospeh Heller, Hunter S Thompson, Donchuevyski (?), Orwell amonst others. I took some names for audio book downloads.

Later, we walked up to Co Art and hooked up with some cool Thai guys who really know their music. They had the full band and it was a great night. Patrick and Adam turned up too. I played about 5 songs which went down well. It wasn't until about two in the morning when they really kicked in with some amazing stuff. Everyone was in a great mood and Dtoi cracked open the whisky and cokes for everyone on the house.

Poor Grace got the fever today, so she is feeling a tad prickly. The boy across the street got her laughing though by throwing his teddy bear up into the tree. We have given her some medecine and she is sleeping now. Hopefully, tomorrow the storm will have passed and she will wake up a happy girl.

I got stung for 2,000 Baht for forgetting to do my 90 day trip to the police station. A real pain and I can never remember to go on time. This time they hit me with a hefty fine. Seems dumb when I already have a visa until next year, but aliens have to check in every three months too. Bastards.

On top of this we all have to do another Thai Culture course and test if we are to get a visa for next year. I did one of these courses two years ago, but apparemntly that was invalid and I have to do it again. The centre is in Surat Thani, 500 ks away and all costs have to be met by the individual. Smells like corruption to me to fill the coffers. Thailand needs to be careful. They just might find that they make it too difficult for people to teach here when neighbouring countries have better offers. They try to insist on the best, yet give very little in return. Ho hum.

The Long Weekend

Tom came over last night in what appears to be a new, and welcome season of Movie Night. Last weeks Shadow of the Vampire was a huge hit to the audience of one, so I was keen to maintain the highest standards of movie choices, yet allowing for the strange, ancient relics and oddities too.

So, for a third time, as Tom has never seen it, I screened Robert Altman's "The Lost Weekend" with Eliot Gould as gumshoe, Perry Mason. He enjoyed it. Particularly the fact that it is a very iconic 70's movie, all set in Hollywood, with hippy, lesbian chicks, alchoholic writers, and tough guys. There is even Arnie as a henchman, which is crazy because this is a 1973 movie, and I know that Arnie trained in the City Gym in Portsmouth for 5 years before heading to Hollywood. I will have to check my facts.

Anyway, the quest is on to maintain the highest standard, which is quite a tough thing, as we all know, not everyone enjoys the same movies. I would like to give "The Blue Max" a showing, and a lost 70s WW2 movie with Antony Quinn as a Spanish goat herder called, "The Passage". It is always risky showing oddball movies as they sometimes backfire. I remember I was horrified when Don and Lee hated "The Third Man" and, one of my personal favourates, "The Duellists" fell decidedly flat. I put this down to the cultural differences of nationalities, and the fact that not everyone is, or wants to be, a film buff. So there you go.

Feeling fairly busy and pumped up right now from massive swimming and gym sessions, but it fits in really well with my timetable, and I am very wary of how one can literally turn ones life around by the maintaining of regular exercise and keeping generally busy. I am so glad I don't work all of God's hours and have the majority of my time to pursue my own interests, and not being forced to sit behind a desk waiting for the clock to strike four thirty, as is the rule in some of these schools. God help me if I ever have to do something like that again. Once one has a taste of relative freedom, it is very difficult to contemplate signing away all your time for The Man ever again. I think I would rather be even poorer than I already am. And, I still stand by the fact that I believe people now in general have far too much money and that most people live in this horrible bubble of new cars, new clothes, holidays in the sun etc. And that many people are really not that brainy, efficient or caring and are just riding the false wave for as long as it will carry them. When you understand that over 8,000 species of animals are on the verge of extinction and that 80% of the world's wealth is spent on personal appearance, one does tend to feel a tad sad and sorry for the Earth we inhabit. Unfortunately, we are the disease. We are the virus. And we deserve everything that is coming to us.

Gosford Park

School has opened after a two week shut down due to the flood. Although I enjoy doing nothing, it was fairly fun to go and lark about with the kids. The nun, remember it's a catholic school, is oh so very serious with this latest dilemma, and the fact that a bunch of kids have left to go to a new international school that has opened in Hat Yai.  I don't have much sympathy. In fact, she seems damn right spoilt, and the school is constantly asking the parents for hand-outs to buy new stuff for the school. No one seems to know where the money from the fees goes to - to some central Christian fund, I am told, to maintain their campaign for global dominance, I suppose.

I have joined a super cool gym. It has great swimming pool, brilliant gym (with lots of space and machines) and a sauna. Patrick invited me to join, then dropped out himself. So, I have been swimming, back up to my 20 laps per session and spending alternate days on the bike and the machines for upper body. Feels good and I have slimmed down some too. In fact, due to being somewhat isolated in the country, the boys are less inclined to visit, and I have had to break down and confess that I almost, I state almost, find Thai beer so fucking crap, that there is very little pleasure gained from it, especially when drinking alone. And, as well as being crap, or due to being crap, it is easy to get a headache from the next day, which these days, is not a desired thing at all. So, I have been fairly sober of late.

I have been listening to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness on an audiobook. It is pretty good. The opening is fantastic as four chaps sit on a boat in the River Thames relating old sea faring tales. Then one tells of the story of Krutz and the journey to reach him. I would like to read more of Conrad. He has a very dark, rich style which appeals to someone such as myself.

I have been hacking my way through Drakensang River of Time which has proved a hoot though I have been struck down with awful headaches and lower back pains from sitting in front of the computer for so long. Going back to school has allowed me time to lessen my addiction and stand in the sunlight. Strange, because the game is so gripping, yet the actual physical experience of playing it drains the body while the mind is living in some fantasy land.

We took Grace to the lake at the uni the other day. Her reaction upon arrival was of stupendous disbelief. She was gazing about her, open mouthed. She ran and ran and ran, until she started falling over and getting tired. We took her the next day too, but her enthusiasm had waned somewhat. We will go again soon, but perhaps not every day as I had originally envisaged.

I am watching Gosford Park on HD which is terrifyingly brilliant. Also, I greatly enjoyed some serial called, "Downton Abbey" with Maggie Smith and a host of others. All grand old houses, maids and footmen and rich people being tortured by some legacy or whatnot. Maggie Smith is such a hoot.

I bought a xylophone. A proper one. I have been playing the theme to In The Night Garden.

Grace woke us up at 1:30 the other night to watch it. OMG! Amazingly she went to bed after one episode.

That's enough for now.

At The Lake

Shadow of the Vampire

Tom came over last night and I finally played him a movie I have been raving about now for the past few weeks. Movie night hasn't come back, but I think there will be occasional screenings of certain gems I uncover during my sifting of the film categories I browse on the Net. And this is a classic. John Malkovich is fantastic as the crazed German director who employs the unearthly nobody to play Count Ulock. Willum Defoe is unrecognizable as Nosferatu. The movie is hilarious and also gripping and brilliant.

Poor old Tom. He's having a hard time again with schools and private teaching companies. The inane Thai way of dealing with problems and situations has everyone I know banging their heads against walls and slamming their fingers in doors in a vain attempt to understand how the Thai mind works. I nod politely and express mild wafts of sympathy. Alas, it is something I witness all too often and it is only a few falang that have gained even a modacum of mastery of resisting the urge to smack your face into a brick wall in sheer frustration at the brilliance of the Thai way of thinking. I have spoken many times, that the only way to not want to blow your own brains out when dealing with Thais, in certain situations, you understand, is to adopt the role of total indifference. Don't offer to help, don't suggest anything, don't interact with them except only in the most limited way possible. Dear old Patrick whose sweet Irish mind is brimming with good ideas and handy hints for the classroom, is left feeling dashed and bewildered at the confusion, non-acceptance and chaos that reigns after every time he opens his mouth.

I remember, in the dim and distant past, I used to be a good sport and talk about adventure holidays for the kids and exchange days for foreign teachers between schools, so everyone could have a break and the kids could meet someone new. "Yes. Yes," they all chimed to my ideas. And that is as far as any of these rare pearls of wisdom went. "They don't want your help," I plead with Tom. "You are invisible.", "You are the dancing white monkey, and that's all they want you to be." They want you be be clean, on time, polite, smile, and stand tall on every occasion that they troop you in front of a crowd of gawping, fearful parents who have come to watch the show. "Don't do any more than that."

Some folks can figure this out fairly quickly, others have a hard time in accepting these starnge rules. Long lost friend Gee once told me, "Thailand is like a beautiful cake....with nothing inside." And that is very true. They love beauty, shallow beauty. But quality is incomprehensible to them. They adore paper work, one can walk past classroom after classroom where children sit quietly while the teachers heads are buried in mountains of books, busily marking.

I am no master of the art of "how to live in Thailand without wanting to become a self-confessed chicken strangler", but I have learnt some things. Like I tell Oi with the neighbours, "Hello", "Goodbye". That's about as far as you want to go in numerous situations. Otherwise you might find yourself handing over large sums of money or becoming enraged over something very small.

Of course, language plays a huge part, and one can skillfully, even playfully weave through the flak of any Thai encounter. But to go in unarmed, to raise one's voice when one is served the wrong dish at a restaurant, or even offer a complaint about anything, is asking for trouble. "Say nothing. Accept it and walk away."

Tom even confess that he knows how to play the game when stopped by a policeman on his motorbike. "This is my ATM card. This is my Gym card. This is my....", "Okay, okay" mutteres the tired policeman and Tom is on his way. One needs to learn to play it the other way. "The Gray Man" as I read in an Andy MacNabb book. "Head down, say nothing and no harm will come to you". Indeed, one of the joys of this country is that you really are nearly invisible. You can go anywhere and never be questioned. Occassionally, one might feel an arm on your elbow as you are guided in the right direction. And yes, they will get you out of a tight squeeze if something nasty is about to kick off. One must learn the ways of the Thai. "In a town where everyone winks, you also must wink" is a Thai phrase.

I don't like dwelling on this subject because it is not good to diss the people and country where you live, but many of my friends have regular rants about the sheer frustration endured when dealing with Thai people.

Two thing Aussie friend, Danny said who had lived here for more than ten years, that I find very true, and indeed I have stated them here before;

"Thai people are incredibly tolerant of each other, and incredibly inconsiderate of each other."\

and...

"A Thai will be your best friend, until he wants to kill you."

That's it. Enough ranting. Enjoy your super day.

Flood Damage Recovery Party!

The flood party was good fun, with excellent pizza, beer and a bottle of Vodka donated by the lesbian restaurant owner across the street. Here is Patrick, myself, Tom (displaying one of his uber-rare groovy T-shirts and soon-to-be Canadian Police Officer, but as Irish as you can get, Adam. Enjoy.

Cash!!!

In the space of fifteen minutes I went from nothing to everything, and with the help of a policeman.

Still raining, I shot down to Tescos just after nine. Understand, I hate Tescos but it was reportedly the only place with a working ATM. I got there and, of course, the ATM wasn't working. There was a policeman sitting next to the machine and I told him, in Thai, that I hadn't had any money for several days. His buddy arrived and very kindly and graciously, I must say, led me to another ATM of a different bank and said that this machine had cash in it. I thanked him and took out 10,000 Baht.

"While I'm here...", thought I. I peeped around the corner into the enormous supermarket. "Looks good". Not the usual billion people buying trolley loads full of cheap cola and instant noodles. I dashed in, looking somewhat like the cat who came in from the cold with my squeaky, sodden sandals and ancient belt holding up my tired shorts that have no buttons. I zoomed around. There had been some minor changes but everything that I used to buy here was roughly in the same spot. Muesli cereal - check, pasta - OMG wholewheat pasta is back! Pesto sauce - still ridiculously expensive at 160 Baht for a tiny jar a cat could sit on, coffee - not my usual brand but I tried some of this Thai stuff Arabian and Espresso. Feeling my mood suddenly elevated, I rushed home, even successfully stopping to pay the 'trickery bill, something I was sure would still be down.

So now I am back at home with all my creature comforts, albeit different brands, but happy to chug a lug of real coffee in me and not that abysmal Nestle shite they palm you off with and the vast majority of the population poisons themselves with.

And incidentally, I acquired an incredible fantasy role playing game (RPG) from Germany which is totally engrossing and a dream to play. An aborted attempt to play a female, elven ranger and getting horribly stuck in a cumulative battle whilst storming a toll house, I restarted, this time adopting a giant Northern barbarian wielding broadsword and dashing beard, long hair and headband. Normally, I would play a character more sophisticated like a mage or not what, but then it occurred to me that I haven't played the brute-force approach for a long, long time...

Grim

Days later and still no money from the ATM. Apparently the one at Tescos is working so I will have to go there later. No credit on phone, no cash and out of coffee, cereal and pasta. Things are starting to get a tad annoying. Oi gave away half our money to Pee Newt whose husband Carl, although English doesn't socialise with anyone, and didn't have any cash when the flood struck. They also have 3 kids living in their house. I am a bit annoyed with him now that we are starting to suffer. Oi has a bit of cash, a few hundred Baht and we can eat Thai food and cook at home for a bit longer. It's crazy the banks are still shut, even the ones that weren't affected, but I suppose they are all connected on an intranet.

Two of Oi's friends came over last night. The man, whose is a tailor and make me two pairs of very fine work trousers a few months ago, lost everything in the flood. All his clothing stock, machines and personnal belongings. He had to borrow some clothes just to wear himself. We gave them some of my old T-shirts and trousers and our old TV. A lot of people have lost everything, and tragically Oi told me, many animals drowned in the flood. The mass of water rose in about five minutes in the town centre. It came gushing in from the surrounding hills and mountains. Patrick warned me away from the town as tempers are starting to fray as there is still no water on tap, so folks cannot start cleaning up effectively yet.

We have been told the schools will open on Monday. We will have to see if this actually happens, but it still looks like a warzone in the town.

Tom is stuck in his tiny apartment room, waiting for things to return to normal.

Of course, not only Hat Yai has been affected. The whole East side of Southern Thailand was badly hit. Samui, Pattalung, Trang, Nakhon Si Tammarat  have all been devestated, and many people have died.

Hat Yai

Just returned from an unsuccessful attempt to reach Patrick. Central Hat Yai looks like it has been severely bombed. The buildings, are all right, but there is huge piles of rubbish everywhere. The whole place is saturated with water and there are dozens of people sitting outside their homes or sorting through belongings. Added to this, the traffic is insane. Streets of mush and gridlock traffic make it especially awful to be there. I didn't take the camera and I am glad about that. It's just too sad. I am so glad we don't live there.

School is cancelled until Monday, but I think that is a bit optimistic. They can, however, pull off some amazing feats of human endurance though, so I may stand corrected. Again strangely, there is nothing in the international news about it.

I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of falang teachers up sticks and move elsewhere. Why be involved in this enormous clean-up operation when you could jump on a bus and head up to Bangers? Poor old Patrick. His house is in probably the worst hit area. As it was a couple of days ago now, I thought things might look okay, but boy, was I wrong. It was just terrible. I called into Co-Art. There was Dtoi, the wizard guitarist, mending stuff. Fortunately, his bar is quite high so it was only knee deep. If you were standing in the street it would be up to your neck or higher.

Watch this space...

Water, Water Everywhere...but there is still a beer to drink

The rain came. Malaysia opened some dam flood gate, according to Patrick, and the water cascaded into Hat Yai.

The water at our house came up, almost into the house ( I had to bring my bike into the house) and went back down again. There was a mighty storm that night. Sheet lightening and rolling thunder went on for some two hours before it passed over us. We lay in bed listening. It was like the voice of Nature.

The next morning the rain had gone. We spent the day cleaning up. Phones and internet were down so there was, and indeed is, no communication. The day after that I ventured into Hat Yai at six in the morning. Movies like "I am Legend" sprang to mind. Flooded, empty streets receding into misty, ghostly vapour. It was very eerie, like a forecast of some future apocalpse. A few people standing at the water's edge staring into the haunting vision. I skirted around for a couple of hours following the edge, taking photographs. It was only when I saw a dog in a temple struggling and looking lost that I had a sudden pang of sorrow. Later I saw two cats crying and looking for each other amid the garbage. It made me sad and wanting to help. Then I looked around at the people whose houses have been destroyed. Garbage everywhere and lowly figures sifting through sodden belongings. I started to feel guilty and headed back to the highway. I called in on Tom, who had arrived back from a holiday in Sumatra. A little early in the day as he blearily-eyed opened his aprtment door. He was welcoming as always and we chatted for a while, wondering where Patrick was, as his house lay in the middle of this lake.

Tom called round in the evening. He was waded to Patrick's house but there was no one there. Apparently, according to the stout lesbian who runs a tiny and excellent resstaurant opposite, informed Tom that Pat was housed-up at his girlfriend's house in the next street. Tom retreated back to dry land, knowing that our Irish buddy was okay.

Obviously, school is out, and I even wonder if we have jobs anymore. It's like the city is destroyed. There are underground carparks in there that must be 20 meters underwater. The entire central area on the town, including the railway station was hit but a good meter or two of water. The cost must be astronomical. I suspected there must be looting going on. Food in the surviving supermarkets and 7/11 is all sold out, ATM's are down. Electricity, phone, internet are all down. Oi gave away half our available money to a friend who was penniless and unable to buy any food. We have been living off the junk food that is available; crappy hot dog sausages, crisps and chocolate. It has been a great taste of what a future anarchy might be like.

Yet, of course, I did witness the famous Thai resilence. Smiling faces and everybody helping witnessed at the tsunami a few years ago. Thai people are fantastic at disaster recovery and slowly, steadily go about cleaning up and handing out food the very moment disaster strikes. Tom said he even saw someone cleaning the the upper half of their motorbike while the under half still remained submerged. As pointless as fitting wheels to a tomato? Possibly, but that's Thailand.

We (Oi, Gracie and myself) have been so lucky, epecially as we moved out of the town a year ago. We have been counting our stars and I, for one, have been relishing the time off work. I don't know how long it will be before they re-open the schools. We will have to wait and see.

On a global note, the world seems a very dangerous place right now. China and Russia are laying into Japan and these groups of disputed islands, the war of Muslims against Christians seems to be going up a level and I watched a terrifying docu about the resource war kicking off between China and the US as our Chinese friends buy into every available country in their quest for oil. It seems just a spark could set off a great war.

Flood II - The Rising